


Brutus

by planiforidjit



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Anal Sex, Barebacking, Blink and you'll miss it, Blow Jobs, Coffee Shop, Derek is such a sappy dad, Fingering, Future Fic, Isaac wears scarves, Kid Fic, M/M, Nail Painting, Stiles has a panic attack, There's a puppy, There's a wedding, Top!Stiles, a/b/o light, and then forgotten about because why?, bookstore, bottom!Derek, brief mention of Stiles/OC, but barely, but only because having a kid mellows him out, everyone's kids are named after dead people, he's so gross, his name is Brutus, it's so gross, kind of ignoring season five, kind of not, kind of out of character Derek, oh hot dam that is my jam, somehow the jeep is still alive, sterek, the coffee shop is mentioned once, there's kind of some a/b/o stuff, tropey as shit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-23
Updated: 2015-12-23
Packaged: 2018-05-08 18:45:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 20,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5508755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/planiforidjit/pseuds/planiforidjit
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After a failed engagement and losing his job, Stiles does what any twenty-seven year old would do: he buys a puppy and moves back in with his dad. </p><p>And then stupid Derek had to be there, owning a bookstore and having a kid and looking probably hotter than he used to.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Brutus

There's a new bookstore in Beacon Hills.

Okay.

There's a lot of new things in Beacon Hills. Not just the bookstore. But Stiles hasn't been back in six years. Not since Scott's first kid was born and coming home from college seemed like kind of a bust when his dad would just pay to fly out and visit him. So he's noticing all the new things, but the bookstore is of particular mention. Mostly because of the name.

_Full Moon Booksellers._

And, yeah, that probably wouldn't be a thing anywhere else. But with Beacon Hills and it's little problem with the supernatural the name is of note. So is the giant black triskele on the sign.

It's nine and Stiles is late getting to his dad's because of all the traffic driving from mother fucking Manhattan over three days and the bookstore is closed, but if all those things weren't true, Stiles would be marching into that bookstore ready to shout at whatever Hale did this.

Probably Peter. It's always fucking Peter.

It's probably fine. He feels like if it were an actual problem the Scooby Gang would have called him (and, yes, he realizes that in that scenario he is Shaggy and Scott is Scooby) and he hasn't heard anything from them in the last year from them except for baby pictures from Scott of the newest little ball of fur and one text from Lydia that just read: Parrish proposed. Details to follow.

Leave it to Lydia to plan what appears to be the most low key wedding any of them has ever been to.

Stiles is technically there for the wedding. He's got his tux and his present for them (a gift card to Crate and Barrel and a set of engraved serving spoons). It's just that he also has all of the contents of his apartment in the back of the jeep and his two month old puppy, Brutus, in the front seat.

He's moving home. No one knows that he's moving home mostly because he's a little ashamed to be moving back in with his dad at twenty-seven. They'll all know soon enough. He's planning on telling Scott while they get ready for the wedding, but he just hasn't been able to tell everyone. It's too hard. Letting out that maybe he broke up with the girl he asked to marry him and lost his job in the same week and bought a dog with his total lack of money to cope with it, is not a great way to come back.

And all he feels is dread settling into the pit of his stomach like something alive and evil as he drives to his dad's house. He forgets the bookstore entirely when he pulls into the driveway next to a Subaru Outback. He throws it a side eye and grabs the duffle he's keeping his clothes in and the backpack with his laptop and important stuff out of the back seat. He grabs Brutus from the front seat and sets him down in the yard. Brutus is mostly yellow fuzz at the point, but he makes a good go of running around the yard and peeing on everything he thinks is suspicious.

He follows Stiles up the stairs to the door and stays by his feet while he opens it.

"Hey dad!" Stiles shouts, walking into the kitchen. "Nice Outback! Since when are you a middle aged lesbian?"

Stiles dad rushes in from the living room and bowls him over with a hug. Some grade A Stilinski level hugging going on right there. Stiles wants to cry. He hasn't seen his dad since Christmas. And that's too long. Brutus dances around their feet, nipping at the Sheriff's pants.

"It's not my car, you idiot," his dad says.

"It's mine, actually."

Brutus stops wiggling around and he backs up against Stiles' legs with a little growl. It's not a threatening growl coming from a two month old golden retriever, but it's still a growl. Stiles' dad breaks away from him. Derek stands in the doorway from the living room, looking as stupid hot as ever. He's wearing a t-shirt and jeans, the bastard. He's all scruffy and a little tired looking, but he's still shaped like an upside down triangle and his eyes are still golden and too big and beautiful and his eyebrows are knit together in a way that Stiles knows too well.

"Hey, Derek." Stiles tries to say it normally, but he can't. Or at least he doesn't think he does.

But it's been nine years. And Derek is just standing there like its normal and—.

"You drive a fucking Outback?" Stiles asks with a little laugh because he can't contain it.

"It's practical." Derek scratches the back of his head. "Well, I'd better get going, Sheriff. Thanks for all your help."

"Anytime, son. Let me know if you need anything else."

Derek just heads towards Stiles and the door, flashing red eyes at Brutus as he passes. Brutus puts his head down between his front paws with a little whine.

"You're going to the wedding tomorrow?" Derek asks.

"Uh, yeah. Are you?"

Derek frowns and nods. "Yup. I'll see you there."

"Yeah."

He's gone and Stiles wants to say something like, "I missed you."

God.

Fucking Derek fucking Hale.

It's one thing to have a crazy crush on an older guy in high school. It's another to think you're basically over it and then see him standing in your kitchen and it sends your heart into overdrive again

And oh Jesus he probably heard it. The only thing Stiles can hope for is that his heart always beats fast around Derek so Derek might just think that's how he works.

"What the fuck was Derek Hale doing here?" Stiles asks.

"Give me two seconds to be with you before you start off on that again," Stiles' dad says.

"Again?"

"Come on, kid, you've always had a touch of an obsession."

"I—whatever. Way to introduce yourself to your grandson." Stiles gestures at Brutus, who is still at his feet.

"There was a lot going on," John says, crouching down and scratching Brutus behind the ear. Brutus immediately rolls over onto his back and John laughs. "What's his name."

"Brutus. Because he's brutal."

"Yes." John scratches his belly. "I can tell."

"Dad. What the hell was Derek Hale doing here?"

"Just helping me figure out a case. We're pretty sure it's something wolfy and he's the expert."

"No he's not. I'm the expert!"

"Why don't we sit down. Do you want a beer, son?"

Stiles eyes the fridge. "Yes. Jesus. Then will you tell me things?"

"Yes."

"Fine," Stiles says. "Beer me."

John manages to force a few minutes of small talk out of Stiles as they grab beers and settle into the couch. Brutus jumps up onto John's lap and licks the bottom of his chin.

John scratches behind his ears. "Okay, kid, ask away."

"How long has Derek been back?"

"A few months."

"Doing what?"

"Opened a bookstore. That's mostly what he's doing."

"That's his?"

"Yeah."

"You're being shifty. Why are you being shifty?"

"I'm not going to tell you everything. You can ask him."

"Why didn't anyone tell me he was back. Like Scott didn't say anything."

"You haven't been home in years, Stiles."

"So?"

"You aren't the first person they call anymore."

"Yeah but you've been talking to him."

"I didn't want to fuel anything. I didn't know you were planning on coming back for good."

"You're not fueling anything!" Stiles gestures wildly with his beer and spills some on his dad and Brutus.

John wipes the beer from Brutus's ears. "Okay. Well I'm sorry I didn't tell you."

"Good."

His dad reaches over and runs his fingers through Stiles' hair. "It's good to have you back, son."

\---

Scott ties Stiles' bow tie in the living room of his new house while Kira desperately tries to get their eldest son, Boyd, to wear his own bow tie. His second oldest, four year old Allison is carrying eleven month old, Erica on her hip. Kira is super pregnant. So pregnant that every time she leans over to help Boyd she makes and "oof" noise and Scott gives her an anxious look.

"Dude. You have an actual litter of children."

Scott frowns. "Seeing as we're actually all wolves and foxes, I don't think you can say that."

"I think I can. And what are you going to name the new one? You're going to run out of dead people to name them after."

"Not possible."

Stiles looks down at Scott's hands. "That's true. Shit, man."

"No swearing around the puppies," Kira admonishes.

"No calling them puppies," Scott says. "They're people first."

Allison yips and giggles, bouncing Erica up and down. Erica pulls at her hair and suddenly teeth are out and Scott is picking Erica up off the ground and soothing her tears while he half-heartedly scolds Allison. He's such a sap around his kids. He and Kira are useless parents when it comes to disciplining them. Stiles kind of gets it. He loves Scott's little monsters like they're his own, but he doesn't want any of his own. Definitely not four of his own.

"I'm staying for good," Stiles announces apropos of nothing. Or maybe something. Whatever.

"What?" Scott turns with an equally shocked looking Allison and really it's probably because she's copying him. She doesn't know what that means. She's four.

"Uncle Stiles!" She shouts. "You're staying here! You can sleep in my room."

"No," Stiles says. "I'm moving back in with my dad."

"Really?" Scott asks.

"Yeah," Stiles says. "Also. I got a dog."

"I knew I could smell something on you!" Scott sets Allison down on the ground and wraps his arms around Stiles' neck. "Dude! I'm so happy! You're going to actually get to hang out. You can babysit!"

"Great."

"You love them," Kira says. She finally finishes with Boyd's tie and he runs over to hug Stiles' around the waist.

"I love you too, Stiles," he says.

Scott pauses on their way out the door. "Wait—so if you're back for good does that mean you're not engaged anymore?"

Kira and all the puppies give Stiles this big eyed look. Even Erica, who definitely doesn't understand what's going on. And Scott and Kira and even Boyd all look a little hopeful because they never really liked Beth. Beth was one of Stiles' coworkers and she was always weird about the werewolf thing. It was cool because she knew and totally believed. But she never really liked it. She was also kind of weird about Stiles' whole bisexual thing. She never trusted him going out with anybody no matter how many times Stiles explained to her that being bisexual didn't mean he wanted to bang every person he met.

Looking back on it, Stiles doesn't really understand their relationship or why they got engaged. There weren't even good times. Just uncomfortable times and less uncomfortable times and really fucking awesome sex.

Stiles shakes his head. "I'm not engaged anymore."

"Oh thank god," Kira says and then her eyes go wide because she couldn't control herself. "Sorry! I just didn't like her."

"None of us liked her, bro," Scott says, clapping Stiles on the back. "You okay with it?"

"Yeah. I'm pretty awesome actually."    
"Plus, it frees you up to play the field, right?" He nudges Stiles in the ribs.

Stiles, like an idiot, immediately thinks of Derek in his too tight shirts and his dark eyebrows and his heart sinks a little. "Yeah."

\---

The ceremony itself is small. Held in a barn near the preserve. One of those old brown barns that's been totally redone for events. There are glittery lights strung across the ceiling and candles in hurricane jars on every table. Lydia wears a gauzy white dress like a goddess and Parrish wears a light gray suit. Kira and a deputy, who Stiles doesn't know, stand up with them as a minister marries them.

All in all it's very nice. And it gives Stiles an opportunity to catch up with everyone he missed in the last five years. He learns that Lydia sometimes spends afternoon working in Derek's bookstore. Other than that she's doing research, trying to win a fields medal. Isaac is back and working at Derek's bookstore full time. Chris Argent is back too, lurking around, keeping things safe along with the police and Derek. Their weird vigilante justice system.

"You know that type of thing doesn't work anywhere else," Stiles says to Chris while they eat salmon. "Like Batman doesn't work in real life."

Chris shrugs. "It works here."

Danny, Liam, Mason, even Jackson are in town just for the wedding. They all make plans to get drinks with Stiles while they're around, which is a weird thing because they don't even like him. Stiles isn't even sure he likes them. He just appreciates their aesthetic more.

Eventually, Stiles' eyes find Derek on the dance floor with a little girl in a pink dress dancing on his feet. It's so sickeningly cute Stiles has to drain the rest of his wine.

"Who's kid did Derek steal?" Stiles asks Kira, who is rubbing her hand over her belly and glaring at Stiles' empty glass.

"What?" Kira asks. "That's Laura."

"His sister?" Stiles asks. They've dealt in de-aging stuff before, but—.

"No," Kira says. "His daughter. You didn't know?"

Stiles swallows. "No."

"Yeah. That's Laura, his daughter. Why haven't you talked to him yet?"

"I haven't gotten the chance."

"Well you should. And you should meet Laura. She's, like, somehow both the opposite of Derek and exactly like him at the same time. It's pretty cute. But you know how I am about interracial kids. They're my favorite."

"She's Braeden's?"

Kira nods. "But Braeden is out of the picture. So don't worry."

"I wasn't worried."

"Good."

Stiles grabs another glass of wine and waits for Derek to stop dancing. He finally does and sits down in his chair, leaving his pretty freakin adorable daughter out on the dance floor with Scott's little monsters. He drains the rest of his fourth glass of wine and heads over to Derek's table and sits down in the seat next to him.

"So you have a kid," Stiles says without looking at him.

"I do."

"That's why you have the Outback."

"I still have the Camaro. But you can't drop your kid off for daycare in a Camero."

"How old is she?"

"Five," Derek says. "She's starting kindergarten in the fall."

"Her name is Laura?"

"Yup."

Stiles clears his throat. "You're pretty cute with her."

"Well I love her."

"That would do it." Stiles pauses.

Derek finally catches his gaze, his stupid beautiful lips parted and perfect, his eyes big and questioning. "Do you want to dance?"

Stiles nods before he even knows what to say. "Yeah. That'd be nice:"

Derek stands up and walks onto the dance floor without looking back and Stiles follows, his stomach twisting and turning because Derek. Derek asked him to dance. It's so gross and cute and doesn't even feel real. This could all be a dream, even if he counts his fingers and has five. He could wake up in his bed, late for the wedding and oh god. Derek takes his hand and they're slow dancing to a song in front of God and Scott and everyone.

"I missed you, sourwolf," Stiles says before he stops himself.

"I missed you too," Derek says.

"Are you back for good?"

"I've got a bookstore, don't I?" He raises an eyebrow and Stiles laughs. Then Derek gets this sort of ashamed look. "Are you just back for the wedding?"

Stiles shakes his head. "No. I'm back for good."

Derek doesn't smile. He just doesn't frown. And he nods. "Good."

They're quiet as they dance. And that's fine for Derek because he's always quiet. Stiles is never quiet, but he feels this kind of peace with Derek. He's never felt that with Derek before usually he needs to fill the space between them with words and too many hand gestures. But his chest doesn't feel tight or wrong or anything. He just likes this.

"Daddy?" Laura's little voice interrupts them. She's soft spoken like Derek. Has his dark eyebrows and dark hair. But she's more tan, her eyes are darker too. She's really a beautiful little girl and Stiles is pissed because of course Derek would make a perfect child.

Derek smiles down at her and his face is so soft and genuine that Stiles wants to blind himself with a canapé fork so it's the last thing he ever sees.

"Yes, bug?" Derek asks.

"Can I have more cake? Scott is letting Boyd and Allison have cake. Can I have cake?"

"Can you introduce yourself to Stiles first?" Derek asks.

Laura looks at him. "Hi, Mr. Stiles. I'm Laura."

"Nice to meet you, Laura," Stiles says. He doesn't really know what to do. Kids don't shake hands. Do they?

Laura sniffs in his general direction. Her eyes light up. "Do you have a puppy!"

"Laura," Derek scolds. "I told you not to go around sniffing everyone. It's not polite."

"It's fine, man. I'm used to it."

"Sorry, but do you have a puppy?"

Stiles nods. "Yeah. I do."

"Can I meet him? I promise that I'll love him so much."

"You can meet him."

Laura squeals. "When can I meet him? Tonight?"

"Another time," Derek says.

"Yes yes yes!" Laura wiggles in her pink dress. "Can I get more cake now?"

"Yeah," Derek says. "Go ahead."

Laura runs off and the song isn't slow anymore so Stiles and Derek head back to Derek's table.

"I'm working tomorrow if you want to swing by the store," Derek says. "Laura is always with me if you want to bring your dog by. I know he didn't like me. But animals tend to like her."

"I can do that. And I don't know if he didn't like you. He was just surprised by you."

"He growled at me."

"He's protective."

"Really?"

"Okay. Well maybe it was like he was worried you were competing for me or something. You know. Two dogs fighting over territory."

"You're my territory?"

"No. He just got confused because you both smell like dog."

Derek frowns. "I don't smell like dog."

"To him you do."

Derek rolls his eyes and Stiles is suddenly feeling right at home.

\---

Derek's bookstore is way nicer than Stiles could have ever imagined. It's not just straight shelves of dark books. He walks inside to a tinkling door and the smell of fresh coffee and cookies. There's a tiny reading and coffee area set up to the right and Isaac is behind the counter wearing a scarf and reading a book that's probably Camus or some shit.

"It's July, Lahey," Stiles says and Isaac doesn't look at him, just flips him off and continues reading.

"Mr. Stiles!" Laura comes hurdling around a bookshelf and runs right into Brutus, who she wraps up in a giant hug. Brutus probably dies a little from happiness. "Hello, puppy, I love you. It's nice to meet you. You are so beautiful. Daddy!"

Derek follows, holding a stack of books with brightly colored spines in his stupidly muscular arms. He sets them on the counter like he's just trying to show off how tight his shirt and pants are.

"Hey, Stiles," Derek says, his voice soft and shy and Stiles wants to melt into a puddle and they fucking danced on Saturday night. And now Stiles is here and Derek's daughter is playing with his puppy. Derek's fucking daughter.

"Hey," Stiles breathes and Isaac makes a noise over where he's sitting and Stiles flips him off without looking.

"Not in front of Laura," Derek says, his eyebrows knitting together and his face getting a little cloudy.

Laura isn't even looking. She's got her arms around Brutus and keeps kissing him on the head.

"Daddy, can you give the puppy a job?"

"What would his job be?" Derek asks. He doesn't pet Brutus and Brutus doesn't look like he wants him too.

"My best friend."

"He's an animal."

"I'm also an animal." Laura growls and then cackles.

Derek frowns and his eyebrows knit together and Stiles forgot how much he loved Derek's eyebrows. "You're not an animal."

"Daddy, stop being so serious. He can be the store dog. Lots of stores have dogs. And I promise he won't even poop in here. Will he, Mr. Stiles?"

Stiles looks torn. Both Laura and Derek have very scary eyebrows.

"Probably not," Stiles says. "How about he doesn't have a full time job, but I'll bring him by every couple days so you can play with him?"

"Deal," Laura says. "I'm sure Daddy is okay with it too. Right?"

Derek sighs. "It's fine."

"Sorry, man," Stiles says. "So...this is nice. There's a lot less dust than I was expecting."

"I had help decorating," Derek says, looking down at Laura. "I mean Lydia helped with the practical stuff."

"Lydia helped?"

"Yeah."

Laura looks up at Stiles with eyes the size of fucking dinner plates. "Mr. Stiles, what's his name?"

"Brutus," Stiles says. "You know, because he's so big and scary."

Laura laughs like it's the funniest thing she's ever heard and Stiles grins at Derek, who rolls his eyes.

"I think I'll keep her around," Stiles says. "I need someone to laugh at my jokes."

"Laura," Derek says. "Do you want to give Stiles and Brutus a tour?"

Laura stands up and holds out her hand. "Can I take his leash."

"Yeah," Stiles says, handing it to her. "I bet you're pretty strong."

"I'm a wolf," she says, rolling her eyes and she looks a lot like Derek.

"I have to finish filling orders quick," Derek says to Stiles. "Then—uh—I don't know if you want—we could get coffee? I don't—I feel like—."

Stiles nods. "Yeah. We can do that."

Laura leads Stiles and Brutus around the store. She shows him the surprisingly extensive romance section and the travel section filled with all sorts of cutesy traveling gift items, like notebooks and luggage tags and reusable shopping bags. Then she takes his hand and tugs him so that he's looking into her face.

"This is my favorite part," she says.

She pulls him around a corner and they're met with the most extensive children's section Stiles has ever seen. There's a big archway made to look like a tree and beyond that shelves with picture books facing outward so he can see every cover, a pile of pillows to read on, bean bag chairs and little tables with little chairs. There's coloring books and boxes of crayons on the tables to play with and giant stuffed animals to cuddle with.

Laura flops down into the pile of pillows and Brutus crawls over her. "Will you read me a book, Mr. Stiles?"

Stiles nods because the thought that Derek built all this for his adorable daughter makes him want to vomit rainbows.

"What book?" Stiles asks.

"Daddy and I are reading Harry Potter together."

"Really?"

"Yeah. It's kind of hard and sometimes boring, but he does voices. Sometimes it's kind of scary too."

"I bet. I don't think I should read that to you though if you're reading it with your dad."

"That's true. What about something about puppies? I'll go find something. You stay here."

Stiles sits down and lets Brutus crawl into his lap and curl up into a ball. For a puppy, he's pretty fucking lazy, but Stiles doesn't mind. Laura comes back with a book about a lost puppy and sits down right up against Stiles as he reads it.

It takes a while to read it because Stiles keeps pausing to tell Laura stories or something interesting that he's learned from doing research before getting Brutus. Laura, unlike her father, is patient and listens and asks questions. It's kind of nice to have someone who isn't cutting him off. Derek comes to find them a little while later and watches as Stiles finishes the story. Stiles tries not to be self-conscious.

"Coffee?" Derek asks when Stiles finishes.

"Where are we going?" Laura asks.

"You and Brutus are going to stay with Isaac." Derek gives Laura this stern look before she can argue. "Is that okay, Stiles?"

"Yeah," Stiles says. "I just don't want him to poop in here."

Laura makes a disgusted noise. "I'll take care of him."

"Don't take advantage of Isaac," Derek says, heading towards the door. "He doesn't work for you."

"I promise I won't," she says and it sounds like a lie, especially since the grin on her face is a little evil.

"You know I'm powerless against those dimples," Isaac says, all smiley and nice like he's a normal person and not a sociopath.

"Let's go, Stiles." Derek stalks out the door and Stiles gives Brutus a stern look before following.

Derek just brings him to Starbucks, but he pays for Stiles' drink and acts annoyed about it and then he leads them to a table outside.

Stiles takes that's as his cue to talk.

"You know I feel like the thing that fucked us over the most when I was in high school was none of us telling each other everything so like you need to tell me every last detail of the last nine years but also I don't know if I want to tell you every detail for me."

Derek frowns. "You could start by asking me questions."

"Okay. So…Laura?"

"Not really a question."

"But, dude, you have a kid and she's awesome. I just never pictured you having a kid, you know. Actually scratch that, I know you wanted a family. I just never pictured you as a single dad with one kid. I pictured you with a constantly pregnant wifey and like thirty kids. Kind of like Scott."

"Well Braeden was less into the kid thing."

"Oh."

"It's not her fault." Derek looks a little like he's had to explain to everyone. Maybe even to himself. "It's not like—Laura wasn't planned. And Braeden tried, you know. She really tried. And I thought—my mom always made it seem like you'd just fall in love with your kid no matter what and I think that Braeden loves her, just more in like a biological way than an emotional way. And I could be a better dad than Braeden could be a mom and so we went our separate ways and that was that."

"Does Laura know Braeden?"

"She calls sometimes and sends gifts. But it's kind of hard to determine the point where it fucks Laura up."

"I think parents fuck up their kids no matter what."

"Thanks."

"Well like not—I just don't think there's any right way to do it. Just like the smart way and then not the really wrong way. Like my parents totally fucked me up, right? And not on purpose. My dad made me all weird with this whole like responsibility thing I try to balance with my insane need for answers and my mom died on me."

"It's not like she did it on purpose."

"No. But that shit fucks you up. And my dad did the best he could but like thirty percent of the reason I moved home is to take care of him."

"You're not making me feel better."

"I'm just saying you shouldn't be too worried about what's going to fuck Laura up because you're going to fuck her up anyway."

"No. I got that. You're still not making me feel better."

"Oh. Well on plus side, she's pretty fucking awesome."

"She is great."

"And you clearly love her."

"She is my kid."

"I know, but like it's all kind of nice." Stiles wishes he could start this conversation over again. He groans and puts his head down on the table. He talks without lifting his head up. "I'm happy for you, man."

"What was that?"

"I'm happy for you. You've finally pulled shit together. You've got the pack and the store and the cute kid. It's nice."

"It is." Derek taps his arm and Stiles peaks at him. "Are you okay?"

"I'm kind of just feeling like an idiot."

"You are an idiot."

"Thanks." Stiles sits up and leans back in his chair. He takes a drink of his coffee and Derek just eyes him.

"Why'd you come back?"

"I told you, taking care of my dad and shit."

"I thought taking care of your dad was only thirty percent." Derek does that eyebrow raising thing where he says more with that than with words.

"I don't know. No one told me anything about you did they tell you anything about me?"

"I thought you were engaged."

"Well I'm not anymore."

"And you were a teacher?"

"Not doing that anymore either."

"Want to elaborate?"

Stiles shrugs. "I just got laid off. You know public school. They never have any money and I was relatively new. And the whole engagement thing was stupid to begin with. She broke up with me but also I kind of broke up with her. It was pretty mutual and I didn't really even like her so it's not that big a deal."

"Why were you even dating?"

"I don't know. I didn't have a lot of people there. But I had Beth. So I guess that's kind of it. It was a relief when it was all over, honestly."

"Why did you stay if you only had her?"

"I guess I never saw myself ending up in Beacon Hills. I mean, like I saw everyone ending up together, which was stupid because like I was the one who left. But I also wanted to get away. And you were gone, which I know sounds kind of stupid. But like you and I were always like—."

"On the outside," Derek says with a nod.

"Yeah. Like everyone else had their own things, but we were always involved with whatever was going on and didn't have our own lives. And then everyone else did and you left and it was shitty but like it got better and everyone had each other and I was left and you weren't here so I was gone. I mean, why didn't you come back?"

"It made sense to leave at first and once I was gone it was hard to come back. Braeden and I had lived together for a while with Laura, but once Braeden left I went to stay with Cora. We were there until like six months ago, but Laura's going to start school and Isaac was coming back and I thought that maybe I'd find a place here again. And it's my home. My family's roots have been here for hundreds of years. It's hard to leave that feeling. It was easy to come back."

"And Scott's here."

"Scott is–he's welcoming. He's easy to be an alpha with and kind of co-alpha the community. Sometimes I feel a little like my mom. Like when she worked with the police and ran in the woods on full moons with her kids because I do that with Scott and Kira and their kids and Isaac joins us and sometimes if Laura and I don't go out for breakfast, Parrish and Lydia make breakfast for us the next morning. It's a real community again, Stiles." Derek blushes like he's embarrassed he's been talking so much. "I'm glad you're going to be a part of it."

Stiles is a little shocked at Derek's honesty, the earnestness in his voice. "Me too," he says. "Why'd you open a bookstore?"

"It's always been a dream," Derek says. "I was a lit major in college."

"You went to college?"

Derek's eyebrows judge, but Derek smiles a little and sips his coffee that Stiles is beginning to suspect is hot chocolate because it is a little too brown. "When Laura and I were in New York. I finished high school and went to college, yes."

"And you were an English major?"

"Yes."

"Oh my god. You're a dork."

"I like books, Stiles."

"No. You love books. Oh my god. This is my favorite thing I've ever learned about you. Probably better than that time I found out you bought yourself cozy sweaters with thumb holes. You nerd."

"Says the guy in the Captain America t-shirt."

"Number one: Marvel superheroes are hella mainstream. Number two: I never claimed to not be a nerd."

"I never claimed it either."

"You implied it with the whole Henley/Camaro/sexy back tattoo situation."

"The tattoo is because my family was murdered, idiot. And the Camaro is because I had a lot of money after my family was murdered and Henleys are comfortable."

"You still have the Camaro, though."

Derek blushes and it's so cute that Stiles wants to set himself, and maybe Derek too, on fire. "I like it."

"But you're still a nerd."

"Yeah. I guess so. I like books."

"Laura said you're reading Harry Potter to her."

"Yeah, well I never got into it when it was big because like things were too crazy. We're going through it slowly. Sometimes it's hard for her to grasp."

"She said you do voices."

Derek nods. "I do."

"I might have to hear them sometime."

Derek gets this kind of drawn in tight look before he lets out a long breath. "You could—I don't know—you could come over for dinner. Your dad has us over for dinner sometimes so you could bring him and Brutus, but also just you could come."

"My dad has you over for dinner?" Stiles realizes that that's not what he's supposed to get out of that.

Derek's face falls a little. "Uh, yeah. I mean I work on police stuff sometimes. I'm technically a private consultant. I get paid a little. But he really likes Laura and she really likes him. So we go over for dinner. Make sure he eats his vegetables."

"Dude." Stiles tries to keep himself from smiling too much. "That's awesome. He didn't tell me."

"I know."

"No one told me anything, you know."

"I know."

Stiles waits for him to elaborate and he doesn't. But he doesn't really want to hear what Derek thought the reasoning was. He doesn't want to know that Derek knows that he has a totally unreasonable crush on him. Like a gross crush. Like a dumb all encompassing crush that he never got over even at twenty-seven which he assumed would be a ripe old age and is turning out to be just as stupid as the rest of his twenties it's just that people take him more seriously and expect more of him.

Stiles would get these moments of "oh thank god I haven't thought of Derek at all today" sometimes when something random would happen that would remind him of Derek. A guy looking hot in a cozy sweater or someone on TV totally failing at a fight. And then he'd be thinking about Derek again, come up with scenarios where they'd meet each other. Sometimes he'd have dreams where Derek was actually living in New York.

Maybe there was a little bit of Stiles moving to New York because he knew Derek had been there at one point. They'd meet on the street or in a bar and they'd just get coffee and Stiles would brag about how well he's doing and Derek would ask him to leave Beth and Stiles would go. He had it planned out. Hell, part of the reason he worked out was so that he would look hot for Derek when he happened to run into him on the street.

Stiles wishes he had known. But maybe it's good because he would've found an excuse to be in Beacon Hills sooner. He would have come back with his hopes up to find Derek with a kid and not that Laura is a deal breaker, but Derek is going to want someone a lot more mature now. There is no way that Derek is even close to thinking that Stiles could keep up with them.

"Why didn't you guys tell me?" He asks. "Because it seems like you all made an effort not to tell me."

Derek scratches the back of his neck. "I think that you would have known eventually, but I—I didn't want you to feel like you had to come back just because everyone else was here. You're part of the pack, Stiles, but we wouldn't ask you to leave the place that made you happy."

"Well I wasn't happy."

"No one knew that. Not even your dad."

Stiles shakes his head. "Yeah. I know. It's just this fucking place, man."

Derek gives him this sad smile and nods. "Yeah."

\---

When they get back to the bookstore, Laura, Isaac, and Brutus are all sitting around one of the tables in the kid's section eating cookies. Laura is not so secretly feeding bits of her snicker doodle cookie to Brutus under the table as she reads to them from a book she definitely does not know all the words to.

"What if we were coming in to rob you?" Derek asks.

Isaac shrugs. "We're werewolves, Derek. I can smell everyone coming in. And if someone did try to rob you we'd probably kill them."

"With our teeth," Laura clarifies, bearing her own teeth at Stiles and Derek.

Stiles picks Brutus up off the ground and dusts cookie crumbs off his fur. "You're going to spoil him."

"He deserves it."

Stiles scratches Brutus's head. "Did you have a good time, buddy?"

Brutus doesn't respond because he is a dog. He just whines at the cookies he's not eating and then licks Stiles' nose.

"I should get going," Stiles says. "I have to unpack my stuff and cancel all the utilities at my old apartment."

"Thank Stiles for letting you play with Brutus," Derek says to Laura.

"I should be thanking you for taking such good care of him." Stiles hugs Laura around the shoulders as she hugs his legs.

"Thanks Mr. Stiles," she says. "I can't wait to see you again."

Then she's off to another part of the store and Isaac is taking off after her. Brutus struggles in Stiles' arms until Stiles lets him down. But he has the leash so he doesn't get very far.

"Thanks for the coffee," Stiles says.

"You should come over for dinner with me and Laura on Friday." Derek doesn't even look like he knows what he's going to say. He keeps staring at his feet instead of looking at Stiles.

Stiles finds himself once again nodding before he knows what he's going to say. "Yeah. Okay."

\---

Even though Stiles is having dinner with Derek and Laura on Friday he stops at the bookstore in Wednesday. He convinces himself that it's because he's in the area, but there's really no part of him that needs to be in the area.

When he gets into the store, Derek is sitting behind the counter. He looks up and gives Stiles this super cute, sheepish smile.

"Hey," Stiles says and it comes out too breathy.

"Hey," says Derek. He looks so nice, sitting there reading a paperback. Stiles was such an idiot for not trying to jump him right away. He's such an idiot for not doing anything about it now.

Laura interrupts them by coming around the corner shouting, "Brutus! I smelled you!"

She crashes into him on the floor and he licks her face and rolls over so she can run his belly.

"I hope he doesn't smell bad," Stiles says.

"No," she says. "He smells like you, but doggier."

Derek pinches the bridge of his nose. "Laura."

"Sorry, Mr. Stiles. But you don't smell bad."

"Thanks."

Derek scratches at his forehead and that's when Stiles notices.

"Your nails are pink!" Stiles claps his hand over his mouth.

Laura looks very proud. "I painted them. Isn't he pretty? Look mine match!"

She shows Stiles her pink, sparkly nails and Stiles lets out a whistle. "They're beautiful."

"Daddy is really good at painting nails."

Derek's eyes meet Stiles's and he looks a little like he's going to set himself on fire, which, considering his history, would be a big deal.

"She won't let me wash it off," Derek says. "Don't make fun of me."

"I'd never make fun of you. Plus you're really rocking the whole single dad thing. Do you braid hair too?"

Derek glares. "Yes."

"Oh my god that's adorable. I'm just imagining big, angry Derek with pink scrunchies in his hands."

"Great. I'm glad it's adorable. I might have a kid, but I can still kill you, Stiles."

"I don't think you would. And really, given our track record, I would take you in a fight."

"It doesn't count if you were possessed by a demon, Stiles."

"That's fair."

Laura whines next to them. "Can you two notice us?"

"Are you being rude, Laura?" Derek asks and Laura, to her credit, does not look like she feels bad at all.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Stiles," she says, but Stiles can tell that she's not. "Can I take Brutus to read with me?"

"Yeah. Go for it. If he gets annoying just send him back to me."

She dances away with Brutus's leash in her hands and Stiles turns back to Derek. "She really is like exactly like you and the opposite of you."

"She's me if I said what I felt and liked pink as much I like black."

Stiles laughs. "That was so real, man."

Derek blushes. "Whatever."

Stiles ends up sitting and talking with Derek until Laura comes back with Brutus a little while later and says, "He keeps farting. I told him to stop and he won't."

Derek's nose wrinkles and Stiles laughs and takes the leash from Laura. "We better get going anyway. It was nice to see you guys."

"You're still coming for dinner Friday, right?" Laura asks.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world." Stiles makes a point of committing Derek's painted fingers to memory before leaving.

\---

Derek texts him on Friday morning: _anything specific you want?_

Stiles is still in bed with Brutus. He imagines Derek has been up for a while. He probably worked out shirtless or something. The bastard.

He texts back: _I eat almost everything but I don't eat meat anymore. Sorry, sourwolf._

There are the three dots indicating that Derek is texting back for a while.

_Do you care if Laura and I eat meat?_

_Not at all._

_Okay. I can work with that. Be over at seven. Bring dessert._

_What does Laura like._

_Anything sweet. Brownies are her favorite._

Because he's probably a little in love with both Laura and Derek, Stiles spends the whole day making brownies.

\---

Stiles leaves Brutus at home with his dad and drives to the loft a little too early. He figures that Derek isn't the type of person who cares if you're fashionably late.

He realizes as he's walking up the stairs that he hasn't been to Derek's loft since junior year of high school. It's been ten years since he stepped inside and he's pretty sure Derek wasn't even there. He feels hollow in his chest like he's missing something, like this isn't how it's supposed to be. It's too good. And the last few years have been quiet, but they haven't really been content or happy. This is happy.

The whole hallways smells like garlic and it is strongest at Derek's sliding door. Stiles puts his hand up to knock and that's something he's never done. But the door slides open and Laura is standing there in pink pants and a shirt with a wolf on it. Her hair is clipped back with pink sparkly barrettes and there is absolutely no way that Stiles could not be in love with Derek.

"Mr. Stiles!" She wraps her arms around his torso and presses her face against his stomach. "Did you make brownies? Where's Brutus?"

"Brutus stayed home," Stiles says. "I wasn't sure how well he's do."

Stiles looks past Laura's head into the loft. It's so much nicer than he remembered. Still a little dark with too expensive furniture and that big spiral staircase. But now there are curtains and toys and a giant Barbie dream house and an actual TV. There's a huge dining room table that's set with three plates and flowers at one end. It's meant for more people and Stiles can't help but wonder if Derek envisioned having a whole pack over eating dinner or if that's actually something that happens, but Stiles has no idea.

"Are you coming in?" Laura asks.

"Yeah." Stiles steps over the threshold and it's like a spell breaks. Or maybe the opposite. Nothing happens. The illusion doesn't come crumbling down, they don't get attacked by berserkers, none of them are possessed by anything. There's no blood and glass and screaming. Just Laura loping over to her dad at the stove and Derek turns and gives him this small smile like he's just learning how to let everything be okay too.

"Where should I put the brownies?" Stiles asks.

"Just put them on the counter," Derek says. He looks like he's debating whether or not he's going to go over and greet Stiles, so Stiles makes the decision for him. He puts the pan of brownies down, sidles over to Derek, who is cooking spinach and onions and garlic in a pan and he bumps their arms together.

"Smells awesome."

Derek flushes and it's so fucking adorable. "Thanks."

"Mr. Stiles!" Laura grabs Stiles' hand. "Do you want to see my room? I just painted it."

"Show him quick," Derek says. "Dinner is almost ready."

Laura's bedroom is about as pink as Stiles would have expected from a little girl who owns not one, but two glittery pink tutus. It's filled with books and stuffed animals and there are clothes tossed around. Her bed has a gauzy pink canopy and there's a wolf light next to it and a record player.

"Cool bed," says Stiles.

"Thanks. My dad made it for me."

Stiles says a silent prayer for his emotions. Because they're about to die from how stupid cute this all is.

She shows him all of the records she has which are mostly strange and old and she definitely found them at a flea market and has no idea what they are. And then she shows him all of her books and tells him most of the plot of Where The Wild Things Are. She bears her teeth and says, "I'll eat you up I'll love you so!" Then she shows him the black stuffed wolf on her bed and says its name is Talia.

"After my grandma," Laura says, very solemn all of a sudden. "Daddy says she was the best alpha ever and she was so beautiful and I love her."

"Dinner's ready!" Derek calls from downstairs, which is good because Stiles is about to just collapse into a pile of goo and Laura's been through enough in her life, she doesn't need to watch a grown man weep.

Derek made steaks for himself and Laura and beans and vegetables for Stiles. Laura also eats the beans along with everything else because she's a bottomless pit apparently.

"So what are your plans now that you're back?" Derek asks, pouring a glass of wine for Stiles and it feels so weird and right and good.

"I don't know," Stiles says.

"You should bake for Daddy's store," Laura says.

"Oh, I don't think—."

"I was thinking of expanding the cafe into the empty space next door." Derek just takes a bite of his steak like everything is totally chill. "You could help."

"Really?"

"I mean, I don't know what your plans are and if you want to go back to teaching that's—."

"I don't."

"You don't want to teach?"

"Not at all. Not even close. I fu—I hate teaching."

"Good job catching the swear." Derek grins and it's a stupid smug, sexy look on him.

"I know swears," says Laura. "Boyd taught me swears."

"I don't care if you know swears," Derek says. "That doesn't mean you're supposed to say them. And tell Boyd that if I hear that he's teaching you anymore swears I'm going to tell Kira."

"Grown ups say them. Mr. Stiles says them."

"They aren't appropriate for five year olds," Derek says. "End of discussion."

Laura mutters something under her breath that sounds a lot like, "Damn."

"I can hear you loud and clear," Derek says. They glare at each other and the room gets very tense and Stiles is very uncomfortable and then Derek, out of fucking nowhere cracks a smile and Laura starts giggling.

"I'm sorry, daddy." She reaches over and pats his hand.

"It's okay, bug." Derek messes up her hair a little and Stiles once again wants to die because Derek is so fucking cute. "Anyway, Stiles. If you want to come over and look at the space and we can talk about it. I know it's not like solving crimes or whatever, but it could be cool."

"Honestly, dude, I really don't want to do anymore police work."

"Really? I thought research and criminology we're going to be your thing."

Stiles shakes his head. "No. After—it stopped being fun, you know."

Derek gives him this look with sad eyebrows and big eyes like he's questioning whether or they should talk about everything they never talked about.

"Laura," Stiles says because this is no time to dwell on the past. "Are you excited for school?"

"Yes!" She says. "I got this awesome pink and blue and black sparkly Monster High backpack and a matching lunch box and I have to wear a uniform and that's dumb, but I can wear whatever I want in my hair and whatever color socks I want so that's okay. And I met my new teacher Miss Turner and she's really nice and really pretty and she also sent me a post card! Boyd had her last year and Allison and I aren't in the same class, but that's okay because I want to make new friends!" She keeps talking and Stiles is thankful for it. She describes everything she's bringing with her in detail. "And we have to bring our favorite book to share on the first day and we can put a copy in the class library so I'm bringing Harry Potter!"

"It's too old," Derek says like they've had this conversation before. "You can't read it on your own. No one is going to be able to read it on their own."

"I don't care."

She keeps going through desert and with chocolate ice cream and brownies on her face. Their only respite is when Derek tells her to go brush her teeth and get ready for bed.

Derek sits down at the table with a sigh and Stiles leans against the island in the kitchen.

"I know we never talked about everything or anything ever," Derek says.

Stiles waves his hand. "Don't worry about it. It's not worth going back to talk about. We can just make sure we talk about stuff now."

"But you're okay?" Derek asks. "I mean in general. Like you feel good."

"Yeah. I think that things are good. What about you?"

Derek smiles all soft and Stiles can't help but notice that his ears are kind of big and his bunny teeth seem more pronounced when he's smiling. He finds himself looking for little imperfections all over Derek Hale because they're cute. He's attractive because of his dumb bunny teeth, not in spite of them.

"I'm good," Derek says.

Laura comes down the stairs from her room, still talking, wearing a pink nightgown with Belle on it and she has socks with dinosaurs on her feet.

"I didn't hear brushing," Derek says, still looking at Stiles.

Laura huffs and turns back around.

"Do you want me to stay?" Stiles asks.

"I want you to read to me!" Laura shouts from her room.

"There's your answer," Derek says.

They watch a TV show that Stiles doesn't care about, but it doesn't really matter because he's sitting on Derek's couch with Derek and Laura cuddled up between the two of them. Somehow Derek's arm rested over his on the back of the couch and they're just touching and it's pleasant and perfect and Stiles is a little disappointed when Laura turns off the TV and slams her little body against his chest in a hug. It hurts because she's a werewolf and not because Stiles is weak.

"It's reading time," she says and yawns and it's adorable. And then Derek yawns too because yawning is contagious and Stiles considers just flinging himself out a window a la Derek Hale during his sophomore year.

"I can read on my own, you know," she says, handing him a picture book about a composer when they get up to her bedroom. "But I want you to read to me. I like your voice. Daddy likes your voice too."

Stiles laughs. "I don't think so."

Laura shakes her head. "He does. His heart beats faster when you talk." Derek growls a little and Laura hops into her bed and gets under her covers. "You have to sit in the bed with me so I can see the pictures."

"Okay." Stiles sits on the blankets and Laura gets close to him. She pushes her nose into the crook of his arm and breathes him in.

"I like how you smell," she says around a yawn. "I'm glad you're around."

"That means a lot coming from you," Stiles says. "Are you ready for me to start?"

Laura looks at Derek, standing by the door. "Daddy, you can go downstairs. I want Stiles to tuck me in."

Derek looks like he's trying to tame his face, but he can't. He looks a little like he's sick to his stomach, but Stiles assumes he's just trying to keep from showing any emotions.

"Goodnight, bug," Derek says. He leans over Stiles to kiss Laura and she laughs at the way his beard feels on her face.

"Goodnight, daddy," Laura says. She gives him a slobbery kiss on his cheek. "I love you so much."

"I love you more," Derek says.

Stiles knows he's just witnessed a bedtime ritual and even if Derek is more open than he's ever been, it feels like he's getting something more. A glimpse into what makes Derek whole, what he's always wanted.

Derek leaves and Stiles starts the story. By the time he's finished, Laura is snoring softly against his arm. He closes the book, tucks her into bed and turns off the light before heading downstairs.

Derek is finishing up the dishes when Stiles gets down there. He's got his sleeves rolled up to his elbows and if Stiles' life was a sappy Hallmark romance, right now would be the perfect time to kiss Derek. And really his life might be a sappy Hallmark romance because the whole situation is insane.

So Stiles doesn't walk over to the sink or offer to help dry, instead he leans against the counter.

"Is she asleep?" Derek asks.

"Yeah."

"Good. She was so excited last night that she barely slept."

"Really? For me?"

"I don't know why, but she loves you."

"It's probably Brutus."

Derek snorts. "Yeah. Maybe. Do you want a drink or something?"

Stiles debates it in his head for a while. And if this was any other guy he'd take Derek up on that drink. But it's Derek Hale. Derek fucking Hale. Who has been this weird, sexy fixture in Stiles' life since he was sixteen. Nothing with Derek Hale can happen lightly. If he drank and kissed Derek, Derek would probably be the last person he ever kissed. And not just because of his kid asleep upstairs. Stiles isn't really sure how that all works either. Can he fuck Derek with a five year old werewolf in the house? Probably not.

Derek's going to ruin Stiles and he's known it since that time Derek shoved him up against the wall. He didn't get it that much then. All he knew was that he had a really weird boner and all he wanted to do was turn around and rub against Derek until he came in his pants. And then it kind of escalated from there. Went from just plain attraction to a touch of obsession to fantasies of shared beds and a cabin in the woods far away from everything and everyone. He was attracted to other people sometimes and that was easier after he left Beacon Hills, but Derek was always boiling under the surface. And Stiles knows that the second he lets himself pull Derek in and kiss him, he's going to have to marry him. Because there's no way he's ever going to lose him again.

"I should get going," Stiles says. "Brutus likes to sleep in my bed and I feel bad that my dad has been taking care of him all night.

"Okay," Derek says, not giving away anything.

"Thanks, though." Stiles walks toward the door and Derek follows. He turns around to face Derek as he goes into the hallway. Derek stands at the door and Stiles rubs his arm. "Thanks for dinner and everything," Stiles says. "I'm glad the loft isn't like all doom and gloom anymore."

"Well no one's died in it recently," Derek says with a little smile and Stiles laughs like it was punched out of him.

"Oh my god," Stiles says. "That was awesome. So I'll stop by tomorrow and you can give me a tour of the space?"

"Sounds good," Derek says.

Stiles nods and Derek just stands there and this feels like the point in the night where they should kiss if it was a date but maybe it wasn't because it was Stiles and Derek and his daughter, but maybe dating guys with kids means going on dates with their kids too. And is Stiles even trying to be on a date with Derek or is he going fucking insane? He feels a little like he's going insane.

"Well," Stiles says with a little half wave. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah."

He walks away and waits until he gets into the stairwell to start scolding himself for being a weird idiot with a guy who already knows he's a weird idiot and wanted to hang out anyway. And then he remembers that Derek has super hearing and can probably hear him muttering under his breath like an even bigger idiot.

Whatever. He'll get home and curl up in his bed with Brutus and maybe he'll die or something and not have to deal with whatever it was his stomach and heart were doing all night.

\---

Stiles is lucky Brutus is the laziest puppy on the planet because they both sleep until ten and then lay in bed while Stiles obsessed over what he's going to wear when he sees Derek. It's stupid because Derek has seen him at his worst so there's no way that Derek cares about him looking good. Also there's just no way Derek cares. Period.

He settled on a t-shirt and khakis like always and he grabs Brutus' leash and leads him to the car before they drive downtown. Stiles walks into the bookstore expecting to be attacked by Laura, but the store is surprisingly quiet.

Chris is behind the coffee counter, which is a little unsettling. And it's weird because now that Stiles is older he totally appreciates how good looking Chris Argent is. Kind of in a he could totally kill you way, but still pretty hot. Older dudes shouldn't be allowed to have eyes that pretty. Stiles should not be thinking about how attractive his dead friend's dad is while he's waiting to go see the other guy he's kind of in love with or whatever.

It's possible he has a problem. Some sort of being attracted to everyone problem. Maybe Beth, despite how shitty she was, had a point.

"Stiles," Chris says. He's holding an iPad and possibly selling weaponry.

"Hey. You—uh—work here?"

"From time to time. Derek's already next door."

"Thanks." Stiles gives him a little wave and heads over to the empty storefront. He sees Derek through the window and let's himself in. Derek is standing in the middle of the room with his hands on his hips, surveying the space.

"Hey." Derek has a little frown on his face when he turns to Stiles.

"Hey. Where's Laura?"

"Play date with Scott's kids."

"Should've sent Brutus over. Gotten all the puppies together."

Derek glares. "They aren't animals, Stiles."

"I was joking. I know they aren't animals."

Derek looks away from him and back towards the empty space. "Anyway. I was thinking that we'd do a bar here and the kitchen in the back and—."

"Are you mad at me?" Stiles asks.

"No."

"Because you're acting like you're mad at me and I thought we agreed that lying is what fucked everything up in the first place."

"We didn't agree. You just said it."

"Whatever. You didn't actively disagree. Why are you lying to me now?"

"I'm not mad, Stiles. I'm stressed. I'm trying to figure this out and it's a full moon next week so we've got to deal with that too."

"I can figure it out," Stiles says with a shrug. "I mean you know how to run a business so I'll leave that up to you, but I can make it pretty. I'm good with the visual stuff."

"You're going to need to come up with a budget."

"And I'll probably have to do a lot of research too. I love that shit."

Derek sighs. "Okay." He kicks at a piece of plaster on the ground. "Want to have dinner? Just the two of us. After the full moon."

"Why, Mr. Hale, you'll give a guy ideas talking like that."

"Would that idea be that I want to go out to dinner with you?"

Stiles grins, a little manic. "Like a date?"

Derek nods. "Yeah. Like a date. I meant to give off that vibe last night, but—."

"Oh. I wasn't—I wasn't sure because—."

"It's hard with Laura and everything."

"No! I love Laura. She's the best. I just—it makes it weird when I'm debating whether or not I'm going to kiss you or whatever, you know."

Derek takes a step forward like maybe he's going to kiss Stiles now, but Brutus growls and crowds against Stiles legs.

" _Dude_ ," Stiles says. "He's cool. You know that. You like Laura."

Brutus doesn't look convinced, but Derek is smiling so it might be okay.

\--

The week leading up to the full moon passes in a flurry of planning. Stiles and Derek barely spend any time together not talking about the future cafe and the budget of said cafe. There are little moments though when they stand next to each other for too long and their arms brush and Derek elbows him when Stiles has gone off on something too long and it's nice. It feels like old times and also a little like something new.

Stiles forgets that it's the full moon until he's out in the back yard waiting for Brutus to poop and he hears howling. He's been forgetting about the full moon for a while now. When he first started school he'd get agitated the week before and then nothing would happen and slowly but surely the full moon didn't really mean anything anymore. So even though he knew it was happening soon he didn't really know the exact day.

Now he's outside with his puppy and someone is howling in the woods and Brutus takes off after it like he's being paid to do it.

Stiles runs after him, but Brutus is moving faster than he ever has before. Stiles goes down over a fallen branch and looks up just in time to see a big, black wolf standing between a couple of trees. He can't see Brutus anywhere.

"Oh god, did you eat my dog?" He asks the wolf. He doesn't even know who it is or if he knows them or if it's even a werewolf. He doesn't know if he'd be better off if it was a werewolf than an actual wolf.

The wolf pads towards him and its eyes flash blue.

Stiles lets out a relieved sigh. "Oh fuck. Derek. Thank god it's you."

He comes closer, shifting as he does into a very naked Derek.

"Stiles," Derek says. He's standing very close and Stiles has very conflicting feelings about it. "You should get home."

"Yeah. I know. I just—Brutus is running around somewhere."

"He's coming back," Derek says. He leans in towards Stiles and breathes in deeply. "Fuck, Stiles."

"What's wrong?"

Derek shakes his head. "Nothing. Not with you. At all. You're perfect."

Derek blinks up at Stiles through his eyelashes and Stiles could make a case for dropping to his knees and just sucking Derek off right there. He's already naked. It wouldn't take much.

"You just—fuck Stiles—I can't—it's always—you always smell so fucking good."

He covers Stiles body with his own, presses his face into the crook of his neck. He takes deep breath after deep breath, holding onto Stiles' hips. Stiles doesn't know what to do. In a weird way it's like he's comforting Derek and he doesn't really understand how that's possible.

"I missed you so much." Derek's voice is a soft rumble in his chest and Stiles wants to wrap his arms around him and drag him to bed.

There a high pitched growling behind them and Derek turns with a roar. Brutus is sitting between the trees whimpering at the sight of the naked roaring werewolf. And Stiles is really getting a full picture of how fucking weird this is.

"It's just Brutus, Derek," Stiles says. He puts a hand to Derek's shoulder. He feels the muscle moving and coiling under his hand. Derek shrinks back down into the black wolf and walks over to Brutus, who might be too scared to move. They sniff each other and Brutus yips. Derek presses his nose to Brutus' head and then walks back into the woods without looking back at Stiles.

Stiles scoops Brutus into his arms because he is not letting him just run out anywhere. He kisses his head where Derek's nose touched him.

"This was a weird night, buddy."

Brutus huffs in response.

\---

Stiles and Brutus sleep in the next morning and then head towards the bookstore. The whole town is a little quiet. Like everyone human knows the significance of the full moon and are just letting everyone else rest. Actually the town probably does know. It's not like they hide it well. But Stiles is grateful for it. He didn't sleep well after being attacked by Derek. He kept having dreams about his dick and his stupid body and the way he and Brutus have some weird truce now. It was very complicated dream wise and Stiles did not handle it well.

He has a text from Scott that says: _Derek was seriously weird after he saw you. What did you do to him?_

Derek looks a little worse for wear when Stiles enters the bookstore. His hair is stocked up all over the place. He's sitting behind the counter, which he never does. He looks like he hasn't slept in ages. Isaac, on the other hand, is sitting behind the coffee counter looking extremely well rested.

"You okay?" Stiles asks Derek. He gives Brutus a little scratch behind the ear when he doesn't growl.

Derek shakes his head. "It was less than a good night. We got back late and Laura couldn't sleep. Neither of us slept at all last night."

Laura drags herself around the corner, eyes red rimmed and puffy and wet with tears. She collapses on top of Brutus and hugs him solemnly. Like someone died.

"Mr. Stiles," she whines. "I'm so tired."

"I heard," Stiles says. He looks at Derek, who looks totally broken at the sight of his daughter. She leans against his legs and he picks her up so she can rest her head on his shoulder.

"I think I have to cancel our date tonight," Derek says.

"I knew it!" Isaac yells from the coffee stand and Laura lets out a little moan. "Lydia owes me twenty bucks."

"I don't even want to know," Derek says. He shakes his head and opens his stupid pretty eyes to Stiles. "I'm sorry."

"I'll tell you what," Stiles says. "I'll watch the store with Isaac until Lydia comes in for the evening and you and Laura go home. And then come over to my dad's place at six and I'll make dinner for you guys. It's not much of a date, but—."

"I'd like that," Derek says quickly.

"Really? You'd be okay with it?"

"Yeah. I'd be really grateful."

"I don't wanna leave." Laura starts to sob into Derek's shoulder.

"Come on, bug." She blubbers something about Brutus. And Derek kisses her forehead. "We'll see Brutus tonight."

Stiles lifts Brutus up off the ground so he can lick Laura's face and she cries and laughs at the same time which is one of those things only a kid can do really well.

"Thanks again," Derek says. "It'll be slow. You don't have to do anything other than ring people out. Lydia will do all the restocking and stuff when she gets in."

Stiles nods. "I've got it."

"I know you do."

Derek kisses him on the cheek like it's totally normal and leaves the store. Stiles stands in the doorway, holding Brutus in his arms, in total shock.

Isaac just starts laughing.

\---

It's not a long day. There aren't very many customers, Stiles reads enough that he can recommend books. And then Lydia comes in around four. Stiles heads to the store with Brutus, buys chicken and pasta and tomatoes and onion and garlic. When he gets home, Brutus runs into the house and jumps up on the couch with his dad who is reading another mystery.

His dad scratches Brutus behind the ears. "I ran into Derek and Laura this morning at the grocery store," he says as Stiles goes into kitchen to put everything away.

"Oh, yeah. They had a rough night last night so I covered him."

"I heard. And he asked what he should bring tonight for dinner."

"Oh. What did you say?"

"I said that I didn't know he was coming over."

"I thought it would be nice."

"I bet you did. I told him to bring dessert."

"You said yourself you had him over sometimes when I was gone."

"You're right."

"So what's the big deal?"

"Nothing." His dad gives him a sheriff look to get him to talk. "You sure are spending a lot of time with him."

"We're opening a store together."

"I know."

"Also like maybe we're going to go on a date at some point. It just hasn't really happened yet."

His dad nods. "Okay."

"That's it?"

"For now."

Turns out "for now" means he's just going to wait until Stiles is getting the basil chopped up for his tomato sauce to say something else.

"You know what you're getting into with Derek, son?" Stiles' dad asks in that way where he makes everything seem like it's okay but it isn't.

Stiles rolls his eyes. "I've known him since I was sixteen, dad. He's probably the thing I know best. Maybe besides Scott."

"Not—." He shakes his head like Stiles is an idiot. "You're not just dating Derek, Laura is part of the picture too. She'll always come first. You have to be okay about it."

Stiles chews on the inside of his cheek for a second. "I'm okay with that."

"He comes with a lot of baggage."

"I know."

"And a couple of arrests for suspected murder."

"All of the charges were dropped."

"I know. And I like him now. I see what you kids saw in him back then—when you weren't getting him arrested. He's a good leader and a good father. I can tell that he cares about his pack—about you."

Stiles nods. "Well I care about him too."

"Okay. I just don't want you getting overwhelmed with what dating him means."

The doorbell rings before Stiles can answer and his dad heads to the door with Brutus at his heels. Laura, who is in a much better mood, squeals, when she sees the sheriff and Brutus and Derek stands behind her, hands in the pockets of his leather jacket. He gives Stiles this hopeful little smile and then gets all serious to shake the sheriff's hand after he's done hugging Laura.

All he can do is think about Derek's whiskery kiss on his cheek. Derek definitely has a tiny bit of gray in his beard and Stiles is so attracted to it. He can't stop staring at him. Doesn't know what to do when Derek walks into the house. He hugs Laura but he just keeps looking at Derek. Jesus Christ. He's so far gone.

Laura is holding a plastic container that she hands off to Stiles when she breaks out of the hug.

"We made you cupcakes," she says. "For dessert."

"They're funfetti," Derek says and Stiles will probably never get over him saying "funfetti."

"Thanks guys," says Stiles. But now all he can think about is Derek moving around his kitchen, trying to bake and probably sucking at it. Jesus.

"Laura," Stiles' dad says. "Why don't we take Brutus for a little walk while your dad and Stiles work on dinner? Would you like that."

Laura fist pumps. And it's only then that Stiles notices that she's wearing a sparkly pink tutu and a shirt that says, "I'm actually a princess." She also has on red leggings and pink high tops. Her hair is in braids with pink sparkly ties and all Stiles can think of is Derek braiding her hair for her and it's so cute that he wants to vomit. And now he's back on the Derek train. Mother fucker.

"I like your tutu," he says. And it comes out awkward and weird and his dad gives him this shake of his head while he grabs Brutus's leash from the hook next to the door.

Derek blushes and that's also the cutest fucking thing. "She wanted to look nice."

"You said it was a date," she says. "Daddy refused to dress up. I told him he needs to look more handsome."

"He's pretty handsome," Stiles says before he can stop himself. And then he covers his face with his hands. "Oh my god."

"Let's go for that walk, Laura," says the sheriff. He hands her Brutus's leash and takes her hand. He gives Stiles a look before he opens the door and they go for a walk.

The door closes and Derek turns to Stiles. "So…what're we making?"

"Pasta and chicken," Stiles says. "Is that good?"

Derek nods. "What do you need help with?"

"The chicken is marinating so the sauce until we're ready for that."

"Okay." Derek's voice is soft.

He follows Stiles into the kitchen and chops onions and garlic and sautés them in a pan before adding them to Stiles's tomatoes. Stiles doesn't know what to say. But he also doesn't feel the need to fill the air with mindless chatter. So maybe that's okay.

"Thanks for today," Derek says after a while. "We really needed it."

Stiles nods. "Any time, man. Really. I—I want to be there for you or whatever."

Derek looks down at his hands and smiles this shy secret smile. "Thanks. I wasn't sure—I know I was weird last night. Things are kind of different than they used to be. I don't want to make you uncomfortable."

"I really like you, you idiot. You don't make me uncomfortable at all."

Derek snorts. "I can't believe you just called me an idiot."

"I can't believe you think I'd be weirded out by anything anymore."

Derek laughs once. "That's true." Derek touches Stiles' elbow and Stiles turns to him. He's got this pulled look on his face like he's in pain. "I have to—to tell you something. Since we're doing the whole talking thing."

"Is it bad?"

"I don't know." Derek swallows. "I want to tell you that no matter how you react it's okay."

Stiles nods. "You can tell me anything, Derek."

Derek lets out a derisive laugh. He scratches the back of his neck. "The thing is—I wasn't sure, you know, until last night. There's—wolves have mates. We mate for life. Not that I'm totally an animal and some people don't find like their 'true mates' or whatever." Derek actually makes air quotes and god he's so dumb and attractive. "That whole true mates thing is so stupid and formal sounding. But mostly it's just that—."

"I know," Stiles says like a breath. "I've done some reading."

"Oh."

And Stiles has been thinking about this for a while. Since he came across the beastiary of another ancient family of hunters that told him how wolves mate. They find their true mate in one person. A scent so perfect they can't help loving it. And Stiles was a little jealous it wasn't that easy for humans.

"I was curious," Stiles says with a shrug. "You know me."

"I do."

"Are you saying that I'm—?"

"I think I've always known. But you're human and you were younger—are younger—and now we're here and maybe going on dates. So you should know. It's not binding. It doesn't have to mean anything if you don't want to mean anything."

Stiles gets close to Derek. He cups his stubbled cheek and presses their foreheads together because fuck it. He knows how he feels about Derek. He just needed to be sure about how Derek feels about him. "I want it to mean something."

Derek sags like he's relieved. "You have no fucking clue how good you smell to me, Stiles. You have no idea. Last night it was—it was like torture. I was a mess. I think Laura only stayed up because I was such a mess. Scott could fucking tell."

"He texted me," Stiles says. "And he's so fucking dense, Derek."

"I know."

Derek laughs and Stiles kisses him because he can't stop it and there's no reason he should really. Derek just melts into it, cards his hands into Stiles' hair and sighs into his mouth. It's such a sweet kiss that Stiles' heart probably grows three sizes.

"We should go on an actual date tomorrow. To the movies and dinner or something. My dad will watch Laura."

"He would?"

"Yeah. He loves her. We should do that."

Derek leans in for another kiss, but the door opens and Derek pulls away. If it wasn't Laura, Stiles would just say "fuck it" and kiss the shit out of Derek right there. But boundaries are a good thing. So he just lets Derek move away from him even though his body misses him already.

Dinner is easy and nice. Derek's leg bumps against Stiles' under the table and at one point he reaches down and laces their fingers together where Stiles' dad and Laura can't see. Though Stiles is so startled by it that he misses his mouth with his fork and gets sauce all over his face, so his dad definitely knows something is up. On the bright side, Laura giggles so hard that she starts hiccuping.

They eat cupcakes and then Brutus, John, and Laura snuggle up on the couch to watch a movie. Stiles and Derek clean in the kitchen, brushing up against each other when they can until Brutus starts barking and Stiles has to take him out.

Stiles sits on a chair on the back porch watching Brutus run around the yard, looking for somewhere to poop. The door opens and Derek comes out, sleeves still rolled up to his elbows from doing the dishes.

"Laura and your dad are out," Derek says.

"So I don't have to feel super weird about doing this?" Stiles tugs Derek's hand and brings him down for a kiss. Derek leans over him and doesn't break it. Stiles pulls him down on top of him so that Derek can kneel over his legs. Stiles runs his hands up Derek's back and digs his fingers into the muscles there.

Stiles takes his time exploring Derek. Rocking his hips up lazily and working his tongue into his mouth. Derek moans, tries to move faster, but Stiles wants to be able to catalogue every moment of this.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve done this,” Derek says. Even though his voice is hushed it sounds loud in the quiet night air.

“How long?” Stiles asks.

“Not since I lived with Cora. And even then it’s not like I went out on dates all the time. It’s been years.”

“We can go slow,” Stiles says.

Derek nods, but he grinds down on Stiles and they’re both hard, so like slow seems to be an annoying option.

Derek kisses down Stiles’ neck and bites a bruise into his skin. “I shouldn’t—if they—we should stop.”

“Do you want to?” Stiles asks.

Derek shakes his head and then rests his face in the crook of Stiles’ neck. Stiles runs his hands over Derek’s back, under his shirt and kisses his temple.

“Let me blow you,” Stiles says and Derek’s body stutters forward. “It’s easy clean up, you know.”

Derek laughs. “Always keeping it practical.”

“Come on,” Stiles says, slouching down in the chair and pulling Derek’s hips forward. “Is that okay?”

“Yeah,” Derek breathes. “I’m not going to fucking fight you.”

Derek’s hands scratch into his hair as Stiles unzips his jeans and pushes them down. Derek’s wearing black underwear that’s stretched tight over his hard cock. Stiles sucks the head through the fabric.

“ _Stiles_." 

Stiles doesn’t respond. It's been a while since he did this too. He was with Beth for three years and it wasn't like he ever forgot how much he loved sucking cock, it was just that there were other things to focus on. And Derek tastes so good. It's almost annoying how perfect Derek is. And when Stiles pulls down his underwear to expose his dick to the air, he has to take a minute and pull away.

"Are you okay?" Derek asks, his voice comes in quick, sharp breaths.

Derek's cock is perfect. Not too big, but thick and uncut and kind of adorable.

" _Fuck_ ," Stiles says. "Do you have any actual flaws."

Derek laughs. "Shut up and suck my dick, Stiles."

It's so great. Such a fucking Derek Hale thing to say. Like he's actually annoyed with Stiles, like there isn't fondness in his voice, like he hasn't totally mellowed out since having a kid.

It doesn't take long to build Derek right up to the edge. Stiles keeps one hand on his dick and another on Derek's ass. His own hips are moving, seeking friction even though he can't find it. He presses his fingers between Derek's ass cheeks and Derek tightens his hand in Stiles' hair, barks his name and comes down his throat. Stiles swallows all of it and Derek collapses down on top of him, kissing his face until their lips meet. He pulls his jeans and underwear back up as they kiss, sloppy and biting at each other's lips and tongue. Derek grinds down against Stiles' hard cock.

"You're so good, Stiles," Derek says into his ear. "Can wait for you to fuck me."

And Stiles comes in his jeans just like that. He pulls Derek down for another harsh kiss. "You did that on purpose."

"I didn't know that would get you off," Derek says, but there's a little smile playing in his lips.

Stiles rubs Derek's arm. "Well now you do."'

"We should—I should get going."

"I wish you could stay the night."

"Maybe next time."

"Yeah," Stiles says. "That would be good."

Brutus barks from behind them and Stiles feels a little like a shitty owner and at the same time does not care. He and Derek head inside and Stiles washes up in the bathroom while Derek pulls himself and Laura together. At the door Derek makes promises to go to the movies the next night and then he kisses Stiles on the cheek before he leave and once again Stiles wants to die from how cute it is.

John just rolls his eyes and heads up to his bedroom after the two leave.

\---

Derek drives over the next night and drops Laura off with John and Brutus. He gives her a very stern talking to out on the porch and when Derek and Stiles leave she yells a lot of promises about being perfect out the window after them.

"What's the plan?" Derek asks. He's wearing his leather jacket even though it's too warm and he seems a little folded in on himself. But they're in the Camaro and Stiles touches his hand on the gear shift and Derek relaxes a little.

"I was thinking pizza and a movie. Kind of typical stuff. There's this horror movie out about like blood ghosts and I don't know what it means but it looks pretty bad. So I think we should see it."

Derek nods. "That sounds good."

Stiles doesn't know what to talk about at all over dinner. But Stiles gets Derek talking about his family and he's on a roll and Stiles just listens. It's kind of nice not having to fill the air with chatter. Derek is the one talking and that rarely happens.

They don't acknowledge what happened the night before until they're standing outside the movie theater.

Derek scratches his arm and looks at Stiles. "I know that—I mean we've known each other for more than ten years, but I—do you—I think that I need to take this slow. Not really slow. But we could be sort of slow, right? I know that last night was the opposite of slow, but I think that it's not something I can do again until we at least try to to slow."

Stiles nods. It's not exactly what he wanted to hear but he's not going to give up eleven years of a crush that easily. "Yeah. I can do slow."

Derek looks so relieved that it's totally worth it. "Thanks. It's just with Laura and everything and maybe also because we've known each other so long—."

"Don't want to go fast and end fast. I get it."

"I don't want it to end at all."

"Yeah. That would be ideal."

"But it's good to start out slow. Just like dates and stuff. And you should come over for dinner and maybe babysit Laura sometime."

"Would you babysit Brutus sometime?"

"I don't know. We've come to an understanding but I don't want to push it."

Stiles laughs and he wants to kiss Derek. Wants to maybe fuck him on the back counter of the store. But he also gets it.

"We can still make out," Derek says like he isn't in his thirties.

Stiles grins and pulls him forward for a kiss. "That's all I really needed to know."

When they break apart Derek is all flushed and smiling. Stiles has never seen him like this. Almost bashful. The dark, brooding Derek still exists. But he coexists with this Derek that gives soft kisses and cares about his daughter so much he's willing to forego sex. And Stiles realizes that even though there's still the sex obsessed, spazzy part of himself it also coexists with a part that cares so much about Derek that he'd be willing to wait forever for the sex as long as it means he gets to be with the guy all the time. And he definitely wants the sex stuff. Like he really wants the sex stuff. It's just that the prospect of walking into the movie theater and holding Derek's hand in the dark is just as exciting.

And Derek definitely holds his hand through the whole movie. Even though Stiles' hands are covered in popcorn butter and he jumps at every scary moment on screen.

Afterwards Derek drives him back home to drop Stiles off and pick up Laura and it feels a little like high school. Not that he ever had a normal high school date with anyone. Before Stiles opens the door, Derek kisses him lightly.

"Thanks," he says. "I had a good time."

"Me too." Stiles' chest goes all warm and his stomach tingles and he can't help the smile that tugs at his lips. He kisses Derek one more time. "Who knew you could be so sweet, sourwolf."

"I'm very sweet."

Stiles laughs and lets them into the house. His dad is sitting on the couch reading and Laura is totally asleep on the other end, curled up with Brutus on her legs and a blanket draped over both of them. Derek moves Brutus, who doesn't growl and picks Laura up into his arms. She wraps her arms around his neck.

"Daddy," she says with a little whine. "I don't wanna go."

"Come on, bug," he says and kisses her forehead. "Let's get to bed."

She's already asleep and lets Derek carry her towards the door. He thanks the Sheriff and promises to repay him with beer and steak no matter what Stiles says. Then he kisses Stiles on the cheek and leaves. Stiles watches them go to the car and gives Derek a little wave before he shuts the door and sinks down onto the couch next to his dad.

"I think I'm in love," he says.

His dad snorts and goes back to reading.

\---

Stiles isn't totally down with spending time alone with Laura. He's mostly worried he's going to make a mistake and she'll either turn into a wolf or he'll kill her. But he really likes when it's him and Derek and Laura. But Derek wants them to spend time together. So a couple weeks into going slow, Derek makes Stiles hang out with Laura while he goes grocery shopping to make them dinner.

Turns out Stiles shouldn't have been worried. Because he has never gotten along with anyone better. They run around pretending to be princesses and then superheroes. They watch cartoons that aren't totally horrible and eventually Laura decides they need to get ready for the ball.

Derek walks in with groceries to find Stiles sitting on the floor done up in full makeup with Laura painting his fingernails hot pink.

"Doesn't he look beautiful, daddy?" Laura looks up at him in the doorway and Derek smiles, but he doesn't laugh as much as he wants to.

"Very beautiful."

"I think he looks better in lipstick than you do."

Stiles is the one to bark out a laugh at that. "I definitely do."

"Should I take pictures?" Laura asks.

Derek drops he groceries and has his phone out in record time. "Yes. Absolutely."

Laura demands a photo shoot with Derek as Stiles' Prince Charming. But she throws Legos at them when Derek leans over for a kiss.

Stiles phone rings while they make dinner. And he wouldn't answer it because every time Laura isn't looking, Derek leans over and steals a kiss, but it's his dad and his dad is taking care of his baby so there are a lot of reasons to answer.

"Son," his dad says and Stiles knows it's bad because he's got his cop voice on. "There's been an accident."

Stiles' heart picks up. He hasn't had a panic attack in years and here he is. His vision blurring and his palms sweating. He can't hear anything his dad is saying.

"Daddy?" Laura's voice is pitched high and worried.

Derek takes the phone, though Stiles doesn't notice until he hears Derek say, "Yes, sir. We're on our way."

Stiles can't breathe and it sounds like Laura is panicking too and that's making him panic more. Derek sits him down in a chair and takes his hand.

"Look at me, Stiles," he says and Stiles nods. His eyes lock onto Derek's and he thinks about all the times he panicked and Derek wasn't there. "Your dad is taking Brutus to Deaton now. He got hit by a car."

"Brutus!" Laura shrieks.

"Not right now, bug," Derek says and Laura sits down on the couch and curls her legs under herself.

"How? I just—how did he even get outside?"

Derek shakes his head. "I don't know. But I don't want to drive you over there until you can breathe. So can you breathe with me?"

Stiles nods. Derek puts a hand on his face and he leans into it. They breathe together and his heart slows to something normal. He feels less sick, but he feels totally worn down.

"You're good at this," Stiles says.

"Yeah, well, Laura—my sister Laura—she had a lot of panic attacks after the fire."

Stiles nods. "Thanks. We should go. You have to drive."

Derek nods. "He'll be okay, Stiles."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah." He leans forward and kisses Stiles' forehead and pulls him up. "Get your shoes on, Laura. We've got to go."

\---

Brutus is on a metal table in Deaton's office. His dad and Scott are there and before Laura can see the Brutus is shaking and bleeding, John picks her up and whisks her into another room where there's a litter of puppies just a few days old.

"He's doing really well, buddy," Scott says as Derek puts his hand on Brutus's head. Brutus closes his eyes and let's put a high pitched whine.

"Did my dad tell you what happened?" Stiles asks.

"Yeah. Your dad opened the door and he just bolted outside. He probably saw something. The car that hit him didn't see him coming."

"Who hit him?"

"Just some old guy. He feels awful, but your dad just told him to go on his way."

Stiles wipes his eyes on the back of his hands as he watches Derek take Brutus' pain.

He lets out a hollow laugh. "It's so stupid. We spend years getting chased by hunters and werewolves and whatever the fuck else and my dog is going to die because he got hit by a car."

Brutus lets out a whimper and Stiles reaches over strokes between his eyes.

"He's not going to die," Deaton says.

"He's in so much pain and he doesn't even get it."

Derek touches his arm. "He'll be okay."

"His leg is broken," Deaton says, finishing up the stitches on his belly. "I'll set it and he'll be fine."

A couple of hours later, Stiles is back in the front seat of Derek's Outback with a totally drugged up Brutus on his lap. He has a cone around his neck and a green cast on his leg and Stiles has to carry him everywhere.

Derek drops him off at the house and tells Laura to wait in the car while he walks Stiles up to the front porch.

"Give me your keys and I'll drive the jeep back tomorrow."

Stiles shifts Brutus in his arms and fishes his keys from his pocket and hands them over. Derek reaches out and cups Stiles' cheek. He presses a kiss to his lips.

"You okay?" Derek asks.

"Yeah. I'm fine."

"I don't want to leave you alone if you're—."

"I'm okay. Thanks for everything, Derek. I'll text you tomorrow."

"I'm pretty sure Laura will never forgive you if you don't send us an update in the morning."

"What about you?"

"I'll just murder you." Derek smiles and kisses the top of Stiles' cheek.

"If I had known you were like this I would've made a move in high school."

"As the guy who's six years older than you, I would not have been thrilled."

"You wouldn't think about it?"

"Oh I'd think about it. I did think about it. But I wouldn't have done anything. In any case, I was a shittier person then."

"You weren't that bad." Stiles opens the door. "Thanks again. I really appreciate it."

"Anytime, Stiles. Whatever you need."

Stiles pulls Derek forward for another kiss and this one takes a little longer before they break apart. Derek is laughing, eyes bright and bunny teeth on full display.

"Laura is gagging in the car because she knows I can hear her."

Derek turns to go and then he turns around once more and gives Stiles this little smile and Stiles is so in love he can't even hide it.

\---

Derek accidentally gets drunk a couple of nights later while he's over the Stilinskis for dinner. Stiles found wolfsbane wine and Derek got on a roll talking about something after dinner and Stiles kept pouring him glasses and it turns out that Derek is a lightweight. Because he gets really weepy really fast.

It's probably for the best the Laura is sleeping on the couch. Brutus isn't so lucky. Derek scoops the puppy up into his arms and buries his face in his fur. Brutus doesn't even struggle, but they're in a better place now after the car accident and the last full moon. Not totally better, but there's no growling on either end.

"I'll protect you," Derek says to Brutus and Stiles might start crying because he might be a little drunk too. "I'm sorry I couldn't before. But I'll protect you now."

The sheriff walks into the room. He shakes his head, says, "Nope," and walks away.

"He's so beautiful, Stiles," Derek sobs, kissing Brutus on the head. "All I want to do is protect him and you. I want to wrap you up and keep you safe with me and Laura."

"You can do that," Stiles says, leaning over and kissing Derek on the forehead. "But I want to help too because you never win fights."

"I know," Derek says. "But I try."

"I know you do." Stiles practically crawls into his lap with Brutus and starts crying again.

Derek ends up falling asleep on the couch and Laura takes the guest bed, but sometime during the night, Stiles hears his bedroom door open. He sits up because even after all these years he's more comfortable with hearing a noise at his window.

Derek walks in, holding Brutus in his arms.

"Can I come in?" Derek whispers.

"How drunk are you still?" Stiles asks.

"Slightly to not very," Derek says. He deposits Brutus on the bed and then crawls under the covers next to Stiles. "I brushed my teeth."

"Thanks for telling me."

Derek pulls Stiles forward by the front of his t-shirt and kisses him. "I really like you."

"I really like you too. You sure you're cool with being in my bed, Mr. We're Taking It Slow?"

"We're not having sex." Derek pulls Brutus between them. "Brutus is here."

Stiles kisses the end of his nose. "You're so freaking adorable."

Derek buries his face in Brutus's fur and says something that sounds like, "You are too."

\---

On the full moon a few days later Stiles gets a text from Derek that says: Come to the loft. Now.

He assumes that someone is trying to kill them all again and hightails it there in the jeep. He leaves Brutus with his dad with strict instructions to keep him on a leash if he's outside and prays that Laura is okay. Derek is already sliding open the door to the loft when Stiles gets off the elevator. He's shirtless and in sweatpants, his hair damp with sweat. He takes Stiles by the front of the t-shirt and pulls him into a searing kiss.

Stiles pushes him away. "Derek—what?"

"I want you," Derek growls. He slams the door and gets his hands back on Stiles. "Fuck—Stiles. I've been thinking about it."

"Where's Laura?" Stiles asks because he's finding it hard to concentrate.

"Staying with Scott and his kids for the night." Derek has his face in Stiles' neck, rubbing him raw with his stubble. "You smell so good, Stiles. Do you have any idea what you do to me? What I want you to do to me?"

"I thought we were going slow."

"We were," Derek says. "Now we're not."

He kisses Stiles again like he's hungry for it and pushes him down onto the couch. He climbs over his lap, straddles him. Stiles' brain might short circuit because Derek is looking down at him like he's the best thing he's ever seen and that can't be true. He runs his hands up Derek's arms, over his shoulders, scratches his fingers into his hair. Derek's eyes close and he might purr.

"This is because of the true mate thing?" Stiles asks.

Derek nods like he's ashamed for a minute and Stiles draws him down into a kiss.

"Because it's the full moon?" Stiles asks.

Derek nods again. "But I always want you, Stiles. I need you. Need you to take care of me."

Stiles knows that it would pain Derek to say any of that at any other time. And maybe he'll look back on it and be ashamed. But he doesn't want that. He really does want to take care of Derek.

He kisses him once more. "Get on your bed and I'll be right there."

Derek reluctantly climbs off Stiles and heads towards his room. Stiles takes a deep breath before pushing himself off the couch. He goes into the kitchen and grabs a glass of water before heading into Derek's room where he's greeted by the sight of naked Derek just lying there on his bed like its something he does. His cock is fucking perfect and hard on his equally fucking perfect stomach.

" _Stiles_ ," Derek breathes.

"I'm going to take care of you, Derek."

Stiles puts the water down on the side table and crawls over Derek. He kisses him and Derek's hands tangle in his hair. But he breaks away. Kisses down Derek's chest to his cock.

"I—," Derek's voice wavers. "I fingered myself earlier. So you don't—you can just—."

Stiles hushes him and presses a kiss to the inside of his thigh. "I'm going to take care of you, Derek."

"I'm so happy it's you," Derek sighs. "Could've been anyone and it was you."

Stiles smiles against Derek's skin. Thinks about how much Derek must need someone to take care of him. He gets fucked over all the time, takes care of everyone but himself.

Stiles kisses the soft skin of Derek's thighs, then presses his lips to his balls. Derek whines above him and his fingers clutch the sheets. Stiles moves up to lick the underside of Derek's cock. As he does he presses a finger against his hole and Derek just opens up, already wet and stretched for him.

Derek bears down on his fingers like he can't help it. And Stiles loves how needy he is.

"When was the last time you let someone fuck you?" Stiles asks, kissing and biting at his stomach, before returning to his cock.

"Years," Derek says. "Not since— _fuck_ —Stiles."

"I've got you." Stiles sucks the head of his cock into his mouth. He adds another finger and Derek sounds like he's trying to keep himself from being too loud. Stiles works Derek's cock into his throat and it's been a while so it's not particularly easy, but Derek can't hold himself together and that's probably the sexiest thing that's ever happened to Stiles.

"Stiles," Derek gasps. "Fuck, Stiles." He runs his hands into Stiles' hair. "Stiles."

Stiles can't say anything because he's got a dick in his mouth, but he reaches up and grabs one of Derek's hands to lace their fingers together.

Derek makes a noise and spills down Stiles' throat without warning. But it's fine, really. Stiles would have swallowed him down no matter what. When Derek finishes Stiles surges up and presses a kiss to Derek's flushed face.

"You're perfect," Stiles says and Derek lets out a contented hum.

Derek's eyes are heavy. Stiles strokes his hair and kisses him. He drifts off to sleep and Stiles gets up from the bed once Derek is out. He changes into sweat pants and heads into the living room to find his phone. He orders as much Chinese food as he thinks they can eat and cleans the apartment.

Stiles isn't a particularly tidy person but he's bored and needs to move and doesn't want to turn on the tv and wake Derek up. So he just moves around until his phone goes off to tell him his delivery has arrived.

He sets out the Chinese food on the table and grabs a couple of bottles of wolfsbane beer from the fridge. He hears Derek getting out of bed before he sees it. And Derek appears at his doorway in his sweatpants, rubbing sleep from his eyes and it's fucking adorable.

"You got food?" Derek asks, looking at the table.

"I told you I'd take care of you."

Derek sits down on the couch next to Stiles and starts filling a plate with food. He has this quiet, closed off look.

Stiles reaches out and touches his hand. "You okay?"

Derek gives him this little smile. "Yeah. I just—you're okay, right?"

"Dude. I'm awesome. Good food, good sex. I couldn't hope for it to be better."

"I wasn't—I didn't come on too strong?"

"No way. You weren't asking me for anything I didn't want to give."

"It comes in waves." Derek's shoulders finally relax and he takes a bite of his food. "The desperation part of it."

"I wish you had told me."

"I thought maybe it wouldn't happen. Sometimes it doesn't. And I wasn't sure what I was going to do with Laura and we were taking it slow and—."

Stiles pulls him forward for a salty kiss. "It's okay. Dude. It's kinda great."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." Stiles kisses him again and goes back to his food. "Will this happen every full moon?"

Derek ducks his head. "It'll only happen until you claim me." He looks up at Stiles with his golden eyes. "I won't ask you to do that."

"Why not?"

"Because as far as I'm concerned that's forever."

Stiles knows immediately that he could commit to forever. But he doesn't say anything. He just nods.

They eat and talk about other things. Laura starting kindergarten at the end of the month, Scott's general adorable idiocy, plans for the bakery. When they're done eating, Derek helps Stiles clean up. Then he pushes his fingers through Stiles' hair and kisses him in the kitchen.

A small part of Stiles thinks they should slow down. Derek is all weird on this full moon thing and not like they're not going to have sex because Derek wants it and Stiles wants it, but Stiles should make sure that it's nice for Derek. He wants Derek to feel loved and safe and happy. He doesn't just want to fuck him on the kitchen counter. Except the other part of him does want to fuck Derek against the counter and as Derek moans into his mouth and Stiles scrapes his lips on stubble he doesn't really think, he just pushes Derek up onto the counter and slots himself between his legs.

The counter is a perfect height for Stiles to grind against Derek, who is already hard in his sweatpants. God and there's something so great about manhandling Derek up onto the counter like he's not the alpha. Like he isn't this big dude that rips things apart with his teeth. And maybe that's part of taking care of Derek.

"What do you want?" Stiles asks, hooking Derek's thighs around his waist. He thinks that he could carry him to bed. He'd be heavy, but he's been working out and Derek isn't that big. He's shorter than Stiles. He bites Derek's ear. "What do you want me to do, Derek?"

" _Fuck me_." 

Stiles lifts Derek off the counter and kind of careens to his bedroom because Derek is not light by any stretch of the imagination. Stiles dumps him into the bed and Derek starts pulling off his sweatpants before Stiles can even help him. Then Derek is naked and sitting up to pull at Stiles' shirt and pants.

"Want to see you," Derek says, biting at his neck. "You got so fucking hot, Stiles. Fucking shoulders and chest and your stupid hair."

Stiles starts laughing and Derek shuts him up with a kiss. And then he pulls away once Stiles is naked and rolls over onto his stomach.

"Come on, Stiles," Derek says. "Fuck me."

Stiles has to stop and take a deep breath because fuck. Holy fuck. He runs a hand over Derek's ass and pushes a finger inside. He's still stretched and a little wet from earlier, but Stiles probably needs more lube to keep it comfortable.

"Lube," Stiles gasps. God. Derek's ass is perfect. Really toned and kind of hairy and Derek's got this dark hair on his thighs and Jesus, Stiles might have a body hair kink because he's really into it.

A little bottle of lube hits Stiles in the face and Stiles looks up to see Derek glaring at him, his eyebrows knit together.

"Condom?" Stiles asks.

"I'm a werewolf," he says, his eyes flashing blue just in case Stiles forgot.

"Got it," Stiles says. He pushes two fingers into Derek and Derek leans forward on his arms.

"Hurry up. I just—I _need_ it."

Stiles presses a kiss to the center of Derek's back. "I'm taking care of you."

"Then fuck me."

Stiles' hips stutter forward and he takes that a sign to line his dick up with Derek's ass and push inside. Derek lets out this sigh like he's relieved and he pushes back against Stiles.

Stiles is mostly trying not to come. Derek is so tight around him, so warm and perfect and the way the muscles in his back are moving is enough to send Stiles over the edge. Stiles wraps his arm around Derek's stomach and strokes his chest as he moves over him. Derek's head falls back against his shoulder.

"You're so perfect," Stiles says, kissing the side of his face. "You feel so good. Like you were made for me."

Derek turns his head and it's a weird angle, but they share a sloppy, biting kiss as Derek rocks back. Stiles reaches down with his other hand to get a grip on Derek's cock and Derek's head drops down to his chest with a puff of air.

Derek isn't very quiet, but he doesn't say anything. Just grunts and growls and his hand reaches back to dig into Stiles' thigh, claws biting into his skin.

"Come on," Stiles says, kissing Derek's shoulder. "Want you to come for me."

And Derek just does. Like he's listening to Stiles and Stiles strokes him through it, kisses the side of his sweaty face, praises him. Derek rocks back harder, clenches down around him and Stiles shouts as he spills inside of Derek.

They stay like that for a while, Stiles draped over Derek's back, both of them trying to even out their breathing.

"I love you," Stiles says, when he pulls out and flops back down into the covers. It's probably post orgasm endorphins, but he feels good about saying it, good about what it means for him and Derek.

Derek doesn't respond. He gets out of bed, walks to the bathroom and shuts the door.

Stiles promptly panics. It's not a bad panic attack, but what the fuck. Derek told him he needed him. They had awesome sex. Really awesome sex. The most awesome sex Stiles has probably ever had. And it's Derek and they've known each other forever. And he's supposed to be Derek's true mate or some werewolfy bullshit.

Derek returns from the bathroom with a washcloth and he wipes his come from the sheets and Stiles' hand and drops the washcloth on the ground. He kneels on the side of the bed with his perfect dick just out there and he kisses Stiles lightly.

"I love you too."

Stiles hits him in the face with a pillow. "You bastard! I was freaking out!"

Derek smiles and presses kisses to Stiles' neck and shoulders. "I know. I could hear your heart."

"I don't even like you at all."

"Lies." Derek gets under the covers and wraps the blankets around himself. "You said you love me. No take backs." He pushes himself back against Stiles. "Cuddle me."

Stiles wraps an arm around Derek and kisses his shoulder. "You're so demanding."

"You're annoying."

Stiles laughs and Derek doesn't laugh because it's not something he ever does, but he finds Stiles' hand and laces their fingers together.

Stiles presses his nose against Derek's shoulder. "What if I want to claim you?"

Derek turns, his face all soft and sleepy. "I want you to claim me." He kisses Stiles. "I want you to be my mate and my alpha. But—."

"Your alpha?"

"Just mine. Obviously I'm in charge of the pack."

"Obviously." Stiles grins and presses a kiss to Derek's forehead. "I want it forever, Derek. I want you forever. This is going to sound stupid, but it's like I've—it's always been you, Derek. If I had known you were back, I would've dropped everything for you. I'd still drop everything for you."

Derek nods. "It's not stupid."

"That's because you're a secret sap."

"And I love you."

"I know. You giant dork. I love you too."

\---

Stiles wakes up in the morning with his arm wrapped around Derek's waist. His phone is ringing and he doesn't want to roll over and get it, but he kind of has to because who even knows what's happening.

"Just making sure you and Derek survived," Scott says.

Stiles snorts. "Jesus, Scotty."

Derek rolls over and pulls Stiles close with a huff.

"Is Derek a cuddler? I thought he'd be a cuddler."

Derek cracks open an eye. "Shut up, Scott."

"When are you coming to pick up Laura? I mean, we love her, but she's kind of weirded out that you weren't with us last night, Derek."

Derek takes the phone from Stiles and sits up. "Give me an hour."

Derek hangs up and tosses Stiles phone at him. He gets out of the bed all glorious and naked and stretches.

"Your ass actually doesn't quit," Stiles groans.

"Are you coming to take a shower or not?" Derek asks.

\---

"Laura and I usually get breakfast after the full moons. I mean, not after the last one because we were a mess." Derek pulls on a shirt. "Do you want to come?"

"Is that cool?" Stiles asks.

"I'm inviting you."

"Yeah but is it because you're being polite because I love you."

"I'm not that polite."

"That's true."

"I want you to come with us. My mom used to do it with me and Laura and Cora and Peter. It's a family thing."

"Because we're going to be a family?"

Derek shrugs. "If you want that."

"I want it."

Derek hits the steering wheel a few times when they get in the Camaro before saying, "I know that you're ready to claim me and I'm ready to let you, but could we wait until after the next full moon? Do you mind?"

"I don't know, Derek. I don't think I'll be able to handle you all needy and sweet next full moon." Derek blushes and Stiles leans over and kisses his cheek. "Whatever you want me to do I'll do."

"I just—not that Laura won't be easy to convince or anything. I just need to talk to her about what it all means. And if you change your mind or anything—."

"I've had a crush on you since I was sixteen. I'm not going to change my mind."

"Okay." He does this little smile thing but he's focused on driving away from the loft and it's almost like he doesn't want Stiles to see him smile even though he had a big dopey smile on his face last night.

"Plus I'm like literally meant to be with you. It's not just one sided. I feel it too. Like we're fucking _true mates_ , man. That's some heavy shit on both sides. Mother Nature wants us to be together."

Derek rolls his eyes.

\---

Laura eyes Derek and Stiles over pancakes. Maybe having her on one side of the table and Derek and Stiles on the other side was a bad idea. Stiles feels a little like he's being interrogated.

She points at Stiles. "So you're Daddy's boyfriend?"

Stiles looks at Derek. "Yeah. I am."

"You already spend a lot of time together. You smell like each other."

"It's more permanent now," Derek says.

"Are you in love?"

Stiles grins. "Yeah."

"That's disgusting." She has a hard time saying disgusting and she finishes off her point with a bite of pancake.

"It's nice," Derek says. "I love Stiles."

"Yeah, but that means you kiss and stuff. That's so gross." She sighs. "Whatever. Does this mean Brutus is my brother."

Stiles says, "Yes" and Derek says, "Absolutely not."

Laura laughs.

  
**Epilogue**

Laura is, to put it politely, a shit flower girl. She dumps all the petals in her little basket at the altar and Allison does the same. They end up laughing so much that Scott has to step out of the neat line that he's standing in next to Stiles and push them towards Kira. Derek pinches the bridge of his nose and shakes his head. And then there's a priest who doesn't know any of them or that they're werewolves and he just starts in on the vows as if nothing happened.

Brutus, on the other hand, is a damn good ring bearer. He's bigger now and can take direction. He's still the laziest dog on the planet and promptly falls asleep after bringing the rings up to the altar.

The wedding is a little bit of a disaster. Cora manages to light the arm of her dress on fire because she falls asleep where she's standing, so hungover from the night out before. Derek freaks out about it and Cora, somehow, doesn't care. She just pats it out and goes on her way. Peter shows up late and kisses Stiles full on the lips during the photographs. Deaton gets a phone call while they're cutting the cake and literally disappears in front of everyone. He's just there and then he isn't and Stiles guesses that they're not going to ask any questions or get any answers like always.

Kira's newest little puppy, Aiden, accidentally wolfs out when he gets upset while everyone is dancing, but it's so adorable that no one really cares. It also turns out that Derek is terrible at dancing. Like really terrible. He actually just drops it low at one point and Stiles laughs so much that he snorts and gets the hiccups for the rest of the night.

When it's all over and Derek and Stiles retire to their hotel room, presumably to fuck, though they end up so tired that they barely manage to get off their clothes before crawling into bed, Derek wraps his arms around Stiles and kisses his forehead.

"What a shit show," Stiles says.

Derek laughs. "At least no one died."

Stiles snorts. "Hey we're three for three in nonfatal weddings. I don't think we've ever had a major event where no one died or got maimed or like turned into a Kanima."

"And we knew it wasn't going to be as perfect as Lydia's."

"That's true." Stiles pulls back and kisses Derek.

"I'm still so glad that it's you."

"Me too, sourwolf."

**Author's Note:**

> I'm on Tumblr!!!! 
> 
> www.bifuriousderek.tumblr.com


End file.
